17 countries with the strongest economy

17 countries with the strongest economy

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With Standard and Poor's, one of the world's three largest credit rating agencies, downgrading the United States' credit worthiness from AAA to AA+, the exclusive club of countries with the highest rating --, AAA -- has shrunk a wee bit.

Out of 200-odd countries, just 16 nations have the coveted triple A rating from both Standard & Poor's and Moody's, another credit rating agency.

When a country, say India, plans to buy bonds of another nation, say the United States, it looks at not only how much returns it will get on its investment, but also whether it will get any returns or not.

To help in this process, there are credit agencies, such as Standard & Poor's and Moody's, that rate countries around the world on their credit worthiness, with AAA meaning not only high returns but also guaranteed probability of returns.

When a country gets triple A rating, it not only attracts buyers but is also able to get loans, et cetera, on lower interest rates, which reveals why this rating is so coveted.

17 countries with the strongest economy

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India

Standard & Poor's rates India BBB-, which means its capacity to meet its financial commitments is strong, but is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than those in higher-rated categories.

Let us have a look at 16 countries that enjoy AAA rating, and the United States, which has just been downgraded causing a major upheaval in global stock markets and putting the future of the world's financial markets in question.

17 countries with the strongest economy

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Austria

Austria is one of the 12 richest countries in the world in terms of GDP (gross domestic product) per capita, has a well-developed social market economy, and a high standard of living.

Until the 1980s, many of Austria's largest industry firms were nationalised; in recent years, however, privatisation has reduced state holdings to a level comparable to other European economies. Next to a highly-developed industry, international tourism is the most important part of the national economy.

17 countries with the strongest economy

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Canada

Canada has the ninth largest economy in the world (measured in US dollars at market exchange rates), is one of the world's wealthiest nations, and is a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and Group of Eight.

As with other developed nations, the Canadian economy is dominated by the service industry, which employs about three quarters of Canadians.

Canada is unusual among developed countries in the importance of the primary sector, with the logging and oil industries being two of Canada's most important.

17 countries with the strongest economy

The economy of Norway is a developed mixed economy with heavy state-ownership in strategic areas of the economy.

Although sensitive to global business cycles, the economy of Norway has shown robust growth since the start of the industrial era.

Shipping has long been a support of Norway's export sector, but much of Norway's economic growth has been fuelled by an abundance of natural resources, including petroleum exploration and production, hydroelectric power, and fisheries.

17 countries with the strongest economy

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Switzerland

The economy of Switzerland is one of the world's most stable economies. Its policy of long-term monetary security and political stability has made Switzerland a safe haven for investors, creating an economy that is increasingly dependent on a steady tide of foreign investment.

Because of the country's small size and high labour specialisation, industry and trade are the keys to Switzerland's economic livelihood.

17 countries with the strongest economy

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The United Kingdom

The economy of the United Kingdom is the sixth-largest national economy in the world measured by nominal GDP and seventh-largest measured by purchasing power parity (PPP), and the third-largest in Europe measured by nominal GDP (after Germany and France) and second-largest measured by PPP (after Germany).

The UK's GDP per capita is the 20th highest in the world in nominal terms and the 17th highest measured by PPP.

17 countries with the strongest economy

The economy of the United States is the world's largest national economy.

Its nominal GDP was estimated to be nearly $14.7 trillion in 2010, about a quarter of nominal global GDP.

Its GDP at purchasing power parity was also the largest in the world, about a fifth of global GDP at purchasing power parity.

The US economy also maintains a very high level of output per capita.

On August 5, 2011, Standards & Poor's, one of the premier rating agencies in the world, downgraded United States debt (basically financial securities issued by the US government to finance its fiscal deficit) to AA+ from AAA rating, a rating it first awarded the US way back in 1941.

And this has led to a worldwide bloodbath in the financial and stock makets.